Communications

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

-All memoranda or briefings regarding the animated TV show "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." -All communications between the agency and ABC (American Broadcasting Company), Joss Whedon and/or the production team of the animated TV show "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

This is an interim response to your November 3, 2013, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records related to DARPA's involvement with the animated television series "Agents of the S.H.I.E.L.D". We received your request on November 4, 2013, and assigned it case number 14-F-0107. We ask that you use that number when referring to your request.

This Office processes requests on a first-in, first-out, basis. In that regard, we already have initiated a search for the type of records described in your request. This Office, however, is unable at this writing to make a release determination on your request within the twenty-day statutory time period, since there are unusual circumstances which impact our ability to quickly process your request. These unusual circumstances are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. For these reasons, your request has been placed in our complex processing queue and will be worked in the order the request was received. As a matter of information, our current administrative workload is approximately 1,400 open requests. I apologize for the anticipated delay in responding to your request.

If you would like to discuss how to modify your request in order to speed the processing time, we would be pleased to discuss this with you. I am the action officer assigned to your request and I may be reached through the information set out below.

This is the final response to your November 3, 2013, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records related to DARPA's involvement with the animated television series "Agents of the S.H.I.E.L.D". We received your request on November 4, 2013, and assigned it case number 14-F-0107. We ask that you use that number when referring to your request.

Mr. Brian W. Eshenbrenner, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Director, Security & Intelligence and its FOIA Initial Denial Authority (IDA), determined that no responsive records were found. DARPA conducted searches for records such as those described in your request. The searches included all electronic file systems that might reasonably be expected to contain records responsive to your request; however, no responsive records were located.

There are no fees associated with this request.

If you are not satisfied with this action, you may appeal to the appellate authority, the Director of Administration and Management, Office of the Secretary of Defense, by writing directly to the Defense Freedom of Information Policy Office, Attn: Mr. James Hogan, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20301-1155. Your appeal should be postmarked within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter, should cite this case number 14-F-0107, and should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."